Portia Hart

Since arriving in Cartagena, Colombia, Portia has established four hospitality businesses, the region’s first luxury beach club and a boutique art hotel in the old city centre. All her endeavours are guided by a passionate belief that effective, meaningful change works as a ripple effect from the ground up, with dedicated individuals and small businesses shifting behaviours and philosophies – which in turn engages staff, clients and suppliers on a personal level. In just one year her not-for-profit, Green Apple, has engaged over 20 Cartagena businesses; created five full-time jobs and 10 training opportunities for local artisans; diverted more than 35 tonnes of waste from landfill and even set up Cartagena’s first glass recycling facility.

COLLABORATION NOT COMPETITION: Why the Industry Needs to Work Together for Positive Change

Being truly sustainable is so much more than just ‘going green’; it requires a commitment to the four pillars of sustainability: environment, economics, culture and society. Good businesses do all four at once, but will have a greater impact if they collaborate with others. Sustainability should not be competitive – it’s about realising that everyone has a part to play (and that even giving 1% is better than nothing). This talk will explore how hotels, tour operators and destinations, regardless of their size, can work together to reduce their environmental impact without increasing costs. Examples include a continent-wide conservation strategy, a hotel-led waste management scheme with corporate sponsorship, and how to exchange sustainability knowledge in a global organisation.